Knights on Ice — Three Third-Period Goals and a Haguemeister Bomb

Yesterday, St. Paddy’s Day, all over the country a lot of Jägermeister bombs were consumed in the honor of St. Patrick. Early research suggests that drinking Jägermeister in moderate amounts may be linked to a lower risk of strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. Well, the VGK have their own version of this; it’s called the Haguemeister Bomb and it comes from the blue line. Last night, Nicolas Hague released his bomb of a shot from the blue in the 3rd period, sparking a 2-goal 3rd period deficit that Vegas found themselves faced with in their comeback 5-4 victory over San Jose

Like Jägermeister bombs that have been shown to lower some health risks, the Haguemeister Bomb prevented the VGK and its loyal fan base from suffering a loss to a clearly inferior team, a team they hate with a passion. Even the VGK players hate the San Jose Sharks.

“Any time you do anything against the Sharks, it’s fun,” Ryan Reaves says. “It’s no secret I hate every one of them over there.”

Hague’s bomb was part of the four 3rd period goals the VGK scored in a span of just 8:03.

First, Cody Glass scored on the power play, his 4th of the season, at 6:43. The Haguemeister Bomb at 10:03 was followed by Ryan Reaves’ goal at 12:27. Alec Martinez’s PPG at 14:46 capped the rally.

Reave’s goal was his first of the season through 27 games. His last goal came 379 days ago when he scored on March 3rd 2020 vs. the NJ Devils. Yes, I do feel like I had something to do with Revo’s goal. After the OT win in Minnesota, I wrote that Shea Theodore was missing in action and the power play was suffering because of it. Since then, Shea has gone on a 5-game scoring streak, a career high. He has 2 goals and 6 assists in his last 5 games.

So, I took out my crystal ball after it seemed to work for Theodore and said that Ryan Reaves needs to get going as he had zero goals and just 2 assists in 26 games and the 4th line and Revo have been struggling. Revo responded big time last night, not only with the goal that regained the lead for the VGK, but his play throughout the game was noticeable. Reaves actually scored twice last night, but the first goal was challenged for goaltender interference when William Carrier ran over Dubynk, the Sharks’ goaltender. The War Room in Toronto upheld the coach’s challenge and Revo was denied the goal that I saw in my crystal ball temporarily.

Coming into last night’s game, the VGK hadn’t given up a PPG at T-Mobile in the last 11 penalty kills. They killed off the first 2 San Jose power plays before Evander Kane scored a power play goal with 4:06 left in the game, just 1:08 after Alec Martinez had scored the VGK second power play goal of the game, which extended the VGK lead to 5-3. Kane’s goal made the game somewhat interesting, but even with Dubynk pulled for the extra skater, the Sharks offered no real threat and Vegas used some luck of the Irish to win a game they trailed by 2 goals going into the 3rd period.

With last night’s win, Vegas has a 4-game winning streak, which matches the 4-game streak they opened the season with. Vegas has the best record in the NHL, 20-6-1, and 12-2-1 at T-Mobile, along with the best winning percentage of .759. They’re tied with the NY Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins with 12 home wins.

Vegas has been on top of the Honda West Division since opening night Jan 14. They lead the Minnesota Wild by 4 points and Colorado Avalanche by 5 points; all 3 of these teams have played 27 games.

Alex Tuch, who over the last 2 seasons has been hit with the injury bug, was out of the lineup once again with an undisclosed injury. Tomas Jurco replaced Tuch on the 3rd line, joining Roy and Nosek. It was the first game for Jurco as a VGK. He has played in 213 NHL games with 3 different teams: Detroit, Chicago, and Edmonton. He has 22 goals in his career. His last goal was scored on March 29, 2018, while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Winnipeg.

A welcome face was seen on the VGK bench, as Robin “Panda” Lehner returned after suffering a concussion back on Feb 7. The return of Lehner could not come at a better time, as Fleury has played in 17 of the last 18 VGK games. You can expect to see Panda in the net in 1 or possibly 2 of Vegas’ next 3 games, especially considering they have a back-to back game on March 21-22

My 3.5 Stars of the Game: Shea Theodore (1G, 1A), Alec Martinez (1 PPG and the game-winner), the Haguemeister (whose bomb from the blue line tied the game at the 10:03 mark of the 3rd period), and Ryan Reaves (1G, which put Vegas ahead 4-3 and his noticeable play throughout the entire game)

The next game is tomorrow vs. the L.A. Kings at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
Your comments and opinions are welcome here at Las Vegas Advisor or you may contact me directly at [email protected] or on my Facebook page or the Facebook page of Vegas Hockey Guy or on Twitter @TheRealJoePane

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Reaves’ goal

The Haguemeister Bomb

Martinez’ winning PPG